72 6 MAIZE 



CHAP, poor teeth), whole grain only should be used for sheep, for of 



XIV - all farm animals the sheep is best able to do its own grinding. 



There is a common saying among stock feeders that " a sheep 



which cannot grind its own grain is not worth feeding" 



(see also U 668). 



Henry (i) concludes that it is not desirable to feed maize 

 grain alone to ewe lambs which are later to be used for breed- 

 ing purposes. But he finds that maize is the best single grain 

 for slaughter lambs, causing them to put on fat rapidly and not 

 forcing growth as is the case with some other concentrates. 

 " Grain never gives such large returns as when fed to thrifty 

 young animals, and the grazing lamb is no exception." 



Several sheep farmers on the Transvaal High-veld are find- 

 ing it profitable to give about \ lb. of maize grain per day 

 to their sheep in winter, especially the stud rams and ewes. 

 The grain is fed either crushed or whole. Some farmers feed 

 it in troughs in a shed near the kraal, before the sheep are 

 turned out into the veld in the morning. To prevent the 

 animals stealing from one another, other farmers find it prefer- 

 able to scatter the grain broadcast among the grass of the veld 

 so thinly that the animals have to hunt for it. If the grain is 

 fed always at the same spot, the sheep keep too closely to 

 that part of the camp, and do not forage enough for their food, 

 so it is usual to scatter it one day on one part of the camp 

 and the next day on another part. For breeding ewes maize 

 should form a small part, at most, of the winter ration ; with 

 good summer pasture they need no grain. 



For fattening older sheep, as much as 1*4 lbs. of whole 

 maize grain per head, per day, over a period of fourteen 

 weeks, has been found satisfactory in Europe. Soaked maize 

 proved far less profitable than dry (IF 663). 



The use of maize meal for lambs is discussed in IT 668. 



688. Maize for /V^x— If barley is the natural food of 

 the domesticated English pig, maize is certainly the natural 

 food of the American hog, and will also be that of the South 

 African. In America, Henry (1) says that, although the 

 special function of maize in pig feeding is for fattening pur- 

 poses, maize, as the cheapest grain, must continue to be the 

 common feeding stuff for all sorts of pigs. 



' ' Having a proper knowledge of its composition and limita- 



